DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA -- Wife locked her keys in the car and I called AAA at 6:30 pm. Was rainy and cold. Gave wife my car so she and our child (2 yrs) could go home. Waited for 2 hrs. Called several times during this period to see what the issues was. Was told numerous times that the driver is a few minutes away or that he is outside and I should see him. Driver was clearly not there.

Finally, several good Samaritans who had seen me waiting for so long offered to help me. One lady called her husband from home who came and he helped, the owner of the restaurant my wife was at was helping. I called AAA one last time and reflected to them that I will fix this issue on my own. One lady (who is also a member of AAA) also called AAA in attempt to get assistance. Good Samaritans and I were working on getting the car open and a AAA driver then pulled up. He retrieved the keys in about 60 seconds.

The driver overheard us talking regarding the wait and he pointed out that he received the dispatch 10 minutes earlier. The lady who was on the phone with AAA obtained the complaint line phone number and a reference number so I could address this issue with AAA.

The next morning, I contacted the complaint line and I walked the representative through the situation. I was essentially told "that's the way it is" and that she could note my complaint and have someone call me. I questioned how this resolves the issue for me and my concern with use of AAA services. She then reflected she will take the encounter off of my account as if it did not happen and won't count against my benefit. I again reflected this does not resolve my issue, especially considering I never use all of my AAA benefit each year anyway.

The customer services representative and I became more and more agitated as our conversation progressed. She repeated herself over and over about noting the complaint. I continued to point out this does not resolve my issue. She then asked how I would like the issues resolved. I reflected I am unsure of the options (other than note a complaint) and gave an example of maybe making membership half price or something like that.

To my comment, I then heard a group of people laughing in the background. I then asked to speak to her supervisor. She pointed out that her supervisor is not available. I reflected that know there is someone that is her superior that should be available when she is unable to resolve an issue. She agreed that there was but supervisor is not available. I realized continuing was pointless, laughed, and said goodbye.

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AAA Compromises Member Safety

By Stranded@Logan - 04/24/2009

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS -- Got back from a business trip last night around 12:15am. Got to the parking garage and found that my car wouldn't start. Called AAA at 1am. They promised me a tow within 45 minutes and a call 5 minutes before the driver got there. 1:40am--No truck, no call. I'm by myself in a dark airport in the middle of the night. 1:49am--After being on hold for 9 minutes, I am reprimanded for calling before the 45 minute window expired. Then they say that a truck is not actually on the way and it will be an hour or more before it arrives. They tell me to leave my key in the car and go home, and the driver will pick it up.

2:20--My husband picks me up. 2:40--Dispatcher calls and says I have to go back to the airport because Massport, who manages the parking garage, won't release my car. We go back. 2:50--Dispatcher calls back and says "never mind, it's taken care of." We turn around again. 3:30--AAA supervisor calls and says that Massport will not release my car without me being there. 3:35--I talk to Massport and they confirm this. 3:45--I talk to AAA supervisor again and agree to meet a tow truck at the garage at 5am. They promise me it will be there.

4am--I hit the road in my husband's car, exhausted. 4:50am--Dispatcher calls and says they're just sending the truck. 4:55am--I scrape the side of my husband's car on the parking garage and cause a lot of damage. Having been up for almost 24 hours, I blame it on lack of sleep and this stressful situation.

5:09am--Watching the sun come up. I call the AAA supervisor line and am told that it will be 20 minutes because the driver got stuck in traffic. Ummm....there was no traffic. I lose my cool and tell them this is unacceptable. 5:30am--I call the supervisor line to see where the truck is. They say I will get a call back within 5 minutes. 5:35am--No call. 5:40am--No call. 5:45am--Truck shows up with no info on the fact that I don't have my card, or where the car is being towed.

5:50am--Watching the car go on the truck. AAA supervisor calls and apologizes. Which doesn't do me much good as I have no sleep, 2 cars that need repairing, and a complete loss of faith in AAA's ability and motivation to provide even mediocre service. I was promised a call from member relations which, shockingly, still has not come. She promises to pay for my tolls and the repair to my husband's car, and that I will get a call confirming the car has been dropped off at the right place. That call never comes.

Summary: My safety was compromised, there was a gross amount of miscommunication and misinformation provided by AAA, and multiple promises were made and broken. I am angry, disappointed, and planning to tell everyone I can about this egregious incident unless AAA rectifies this by paying for the damage to my husband's car and offers me a HUGE apology for having to wait 6 hours for a simple tow. Look for this review on Twitter, Facebook and everywhere else I can think of. AAA provides a crucial service that can't be counted on.

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Shady and Unprofessional

By Michelle - 04/15/2014

Rating: 1/51

WORTHINGTON -- I had the "pleasure" of dealing with a snippy little twit named ** at the Worthington, OH office. He sent me a bill THREE MONTHS after the call for roadside assistance. My sister was driving my car to work when it died and she called for roadside assistance but was unable to stay with my car as she needed to get to work. I drove out to where she was broken down to stay with it.

The first guy Triple A sent out couldn't jump my vehicle because he couldn't pop the hood - the latch sometimes sticks. ** told me that was my fault and I still had to pay $50 for that service even though they couldn't help me. Next, they sent a tow truck driver and I was charged $60 bucks to be towed a couple of miles. Funny how the auto garage was able to pop my hood on the first try.

I mentioned that my sister called for roadside assistance and gave them her membership number? Well, because she had to leave they somehow placed those charges on my membership card - and I discovered that I had no roadside assistance calls left on my card - how damn convenient for Triple A! I wasted 2 hours on the phone being transferred around and never getting any answers. ** left me a message that I would be sent to collections. I wasted another hour on the phone dealing with his arrogant attitude.

Did I mention that I'm not even a member of the Worthington, OH Triple A club??? I had transferred my membership when I moved nearly 8 months previously! ** told me "oh no, your membership doesn't transfer until your membership expires." I'm still trying to verify that as it wasn't mentioned in my transfer letter. The best part, when I finally paid the bill as it wasn't worth damaging my credit over, the representative Vernon transferred me to DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO PROCESS THE PAYMENT - WTH???

Bottom line: this company sucks. They have the worst customer service I've ever experienced. I cancelled my 10 year membership with them (that was another hassle). Triple A does not even deserve a one star rating.

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Not Renewing After 21 Years

By Daffney - 01/05/2014

Rating: 2/51

CINCINBATI, OHIO -- Traveling in 38' motor home on July 4, we blew the back inside tire of the dually, which caused the outside tire to flatten immediately. We were about 45 minutes from our destination of Hilton Head, SC. I've had my AAA membership for 21 years. I carried AAA Plus RV, which gives extra services on vehicles and service for the RV. We have used services for both our cars and RVs over the years. Although service was always very SLOW, at least we always knew we had help, until this incident.

We were able to get off the highway onto a deserted exit ramp. I called AAA right away and was told that we would have to be towed, that there was no one that could do roadside service for us. Well, common sense tells you if you're 38 ft long and you've lost your back end, you cannot be towed from the front and you can't tow that size RV from the back (with a tow vehicle attached). My husband, frustrated at my end of the conversation, got on the iPad, found a service station that was fairly close, that said they could come out, bring tires (since you don't carry a spare in a motor home), and put them on for us right there roadside. For a nice fee of course.

So, AAA basically told me if I couldn't be towed, then they couldn't help me.. after 21 years of premiums paid! They said they don't offer all of the same service across the country based on what contracts they have with local service providers. I understand if there was no one that offers roadside assistance in the local area, you couldn't expect service. However, when there IS a service provider in the area, you should be able to expect to receive service. For that reason, I am NOT renewing my membership.

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Left My 88 Year Old Father-Inlaw Stranded On The Side Of The Road

By Angela - 09/26/2012

Rating: 1/51

PORTLAND, MAINE -- You would think when you get the best plan from AAA you would get the best service!!! WRONG JUST SO WRONG. My father in-law's battery died on a busy road 30 min. from our house, we had add him for the reason of him driving to FL. etc. He calls for a tow and was told they couldn't tow a camper/van. When my husband and myself get to him I then called AAA to see what the problem is. This is where it gets so upsetting for us.

They never told us a van with a bed in it would not be covered for towing, that's fine we knew it was a dead battery so I asked for someone to come and test/change battery. Well then we are told we are not in the service area. So I said to the lady, "if I was out in the middle of nowhere then you would come help?" She says "that is why we are not coming out now!" We were on a main road just outside of town with semi's and traffic a consent flow and we are in the middle of nowhere she says.

I did call the New England Headquarters when I got home, 2 people said they should have come out, but when the supervisor called she said no and that the lady we talked first was right. Both ladies who said they could not help was very rude on top of everything else. BEWARE AAA IS NOT THERE WHEN YOU NEED THEM AS THEY SAY THEY ARE!!! I WILL BE ASKING FOR MY MONEY BACK WHICH IS OVER $100.00 for lack of info when we signed up for this.

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DO NOT DO THIS!!!!!!!

By imawolflover283 - 10/01/2011

First of all I called to inquire about getting a premier road side assistance card and ** was quite rude when I explained that I tried to get a membership online and it would not allow me to, instead it told me to call AAA directly. She told me it would be $113.00 for the membership and I explained that online, it stated it would be $102.00 and she stated that was an online only promotion and I could not get it. I explained that it was not my fault I could not get online membership so she waived the fee down to $99.00 because I opted to do automatic renewal.

I inquired about the free spouse with the temporary membership I received in the mail and she stated that is only with the basic membership. She asked for my credit card information which I gave freely, however after she received my credit card information, she proceeded to tell me that there was a 7 day grace period for road side assistance so I told her never mind I did not want it and she promptly hung up on me.

Today when I checked my bank account balance, I saw that they stole $99.00 from my account. After more than 6 hours on the phone trying to get my money back, I was told that it would take 3-5 business days to give me a refund. I spoke ** initially and she said that because ** was in the insurance side, she couldn't help me and that I would have to speak with **. This was clearly their fault, yet they made me feel like I did something wrong.

Upon speaking with **, she was not able to help me stating that basically it's my problem that you stole my money and there was no way of refunding me immediately because of the bank. (Which according to my bank is total **). I then obtained the national office number for AAA and got yet the run around again. I spoke with ** and she stated someone would call me right back. After 4 hours and no call back, I called and was referred to ** voice mail. I left a message for him to call back. In the meantime, ** called back and stated there was absolutely nothing that could be done. It didn't matter that I was about to go out of town!

Finally ** called me back and stated that I had 2 options: 1. Wait until Monday for my refund (which I shouldn't have to because you stole) 2. Take membership and he would waive the 7 day grace period and put notes on my account to reflect that. I agreed to this. He stated someone would email me a temporary card which was done! With the expiration date of the card being 10/29/11.

I wish you had told me this card was valid for only 1 month!!!!!!!!!!!! I would like the address for your accounts payable so I may submit a bill for my wasted time. I am still undecided whether or not I will follow through with the police and state attorney general's office. Oh and by the way, there is nowhere on your website that shows there is a 7 day grace period that I saw.

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AAA Never Showed

By Kadi - 05/10/2010

I've been a AAA member for around 12 years, my current card says 5 but I had another membership before that for about 7 years that I let lapse, then renewed a few months later. I've only had to use them a couple of times, I guess I was lucky because when I did need them recently, they weren't there. Which makes me wonder what I've been sending them my yearly premiums for.

On Sunday I went to leave my house, only to discover the battery in my vehicle was dead (the interior lights had been left on). I went inside to call AAA to request someone come and give me a jump start. While sitting on the phone listening to elevator music, they had a message that a request for service could be put in online, so I logged onto the AAA website and entered a request for roadside assistance. Received a confirmation email a little before 2:00 stating it would take 60 minutes for help to arrive.

At 3:30 nobody had arrived, so I went back online to see if there was a way to check on the status of a service request, however, their website wouldn't accept my login and password. At 4:00 I called AAA. After 30 minutes on hold in the "q", the phone started ringing then an automated voice said something like "the party you are trying to reach is not available at this time, your call will now be disconnected". After it told me this a couple of times, the call was dropped.

I tried calling the help number again, after about 20 minutes of elevator music I hung up and tried calling the number you use if you are out of state. At this point I just wanted to get a hold of a human being to find out if and when the tow truck would be coming. After about 20 minutes on hold with that number, I finally gave up. At 6:00, a little over 4 hours after I had put in the help request, and 3 hours after they said the tow truck would arrive, I was able to find a neighbor who could come over and give me a jump start.

Nobody from AAA ever did show up, or call me. I guess I should just be happy I wasn't stranded by the side of the freeway somewhere, or I'd still be there. Both my home and auto insurance are due for renewal in the next month. I will be visiting other insurance companies to see what they can offer me. I will also be looking for another roadside assistance option. It's crazy to pay AAA for a service if they aren't going to provide it.

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AAA Roadside Assistance Is USELESS

By DON'T USE AAA - 10/08/2009

My wife bought a AAA membership while we were living in Texas. We are now in Illinois. Last night her car broke down. Since the dealer was closed, we decided to wait until this early this morning to call AAA for a tow. Since I am self-employed and my wife works full time, we decided that I would call AAA this morning and manage the situation while she was at work. AAA REFUSED TO SEND OUT A TOW TRUCK BECAUSE MY WIFE COULDN'T BE HERE TO MEET THE DRIVER. Despite the fact that it's HER car, and even after my wife called and spoke to them personally, they wouldn't send a tow because she's not here in person.

After speaking with 5 DIFFERENT incompetent fools at AAA, it turns out that if we were in Texas they would send the tow without her being here in person, but since the car is in Illinois, different rules apply. Even though our membership is in Texas (we just recently moved). So my wife has to take a day off to be here to meet the tow driver tomorrow, and meanwhile her car is sitting on the side of the road in a sketchy location for two days. And we can't afford to call a private tow, so we're pretty much on the hook, having wasted $450 over the past 6 years on AAA membership for nothing.

Essentially, we've been paying for nothing for the past 6 years, and the one time we really need their help, AAA IS AN EPIC FAIL. Huge waste of money. And their so-called "customer service" reps are barely literate and not helpful at all -- all they do is transfer you from one idiot to another and nothing gets resolved. Avoid AAA -- save your money. She has had membership for 6 years at $75 a year and never used the service.

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Don't Call Them If There's An Emergency

By flaringsh#t - 04/29/2009

FREMONT, CALIFORNIA -- I dropped my husband yesterday to San Francisco Intl airport on his way to our native land. I was with my 2 babies, one four year old and a one year old. Next morning we had to bring my mother in law to her doctors appointment. We stayed on the parking lot to eat our lunch. My 4 yr. Old told me we have to go to the bathroom. So, I let my 4 yr. Old get out of the van and then I got to my 1 yr. Old.

As I was about to get my bag (with everything on it including my wallet, cellphone and the key to the van) on the driver seat, carrying my baby, as I turned around, he accidentally slammed the door shut. The worst thing is, before that I pressed the lock button on the driver side because I was confident that I would get my bag first before I slam it shut... which is by the way a bad routine and I admit it. But my baby decided to help me shut it. In other words, we are locked out.

So my instinct was to call AAA so they can help me unlock it since it is part of their road side assistance. I went to the nearest clinic and pleaded to help me find AAA number. I was giving out my name, some details and she asked for my number I said, "I can't because it was in my bag and it was also locked in." Then I said "my husband is the member but I was also insured on their company." She said, "I can't help you. Unless you let your husband call me so I could send someone immediately." So calmly I said, "well that would be impossible because I just dropped him off the airport yesterday." She said, "I'm sorry but that's the way it is. If you want I can send in a locksmith but you have to pay for them." **!

I said "are you looking at our policy?" She said "yes, you are insured and you are the principal driver of that van but your husband is the only listed member so unless he calls us, we cannot help you." I said, "it means, even if we are in a remote area and we were in an accident, and you know that I am insured in your company just because my husband is the only listed member you are not going to help us?" She said, "yes, I can't help you. I'm so sorry mam but that's the policy." You and your ** policy!

I was heartbroken. My babies are crying out of frustration and I can't even get help when I need it! I hate this company and their policies! By the way, my sister in law called AAA again, she gave my name for an inquiry about our policy and was told that I was never in the policy and wasn't insured. How come? When we had receipts that we were paying them for 2 years already! As soon as my husband comes back we are going to change our insurance company and you will surely hear a lot from us in the Better Business Bureau.

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AAA - Sells Wrong Battery Then Does Not Back It Up

By marcretchin212 - 02/05/2015

Rating: 1/51

MT. PLEASANT, SOUTH CAROLINA -- Had a dead battery in my SUV. They drove out and replaced it. Within a year, it was dead again. I went to my regular mechanic thinking I had a bad alternator or electrical drain. They checked it and found that the battery provided by AAA was too small and did not meet the car manufacturer's spec. As I needed the car back, I had them put the spec battery in the car. I immediately called AAA and while not very helpful, they mailed me a claim reimbursement form a month later.

After another month, I received a form letter denying my claim because I had the battery replaced by someone else. A couple months later, when we did not renew membership, we get a call asking why. When we explain the situation, they say they'll try to help. The garage that contracts for AAA, asked if we had the old battery. When he found out that my mechanic disposed of the AAA battery after a couple months, he said they could not do anything.

Do yourself a favor, buy a set of jumper cables, get roadside assistance from your insurance company for less money and NEVER let AAA touch your car as they will not back up their service or products.